Liverpool fans unfairly blamed for Champions League final riots, report finds | UK news

It was unfair to blame Liverpool fans for the riots in Paris ahead of the Champions League final as state authorities failed to deal with the crowds, a report says.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin pointed the finger at Liverpool fans to divert attention from the failings of the police and organizers, according to a report commissioned by the French Senate.

It said the riots caused a “chain of events and disruptions” in the days and hours leading up to the launch.

In an earlier report, he added: “It is unfair to want to make Liverpool supporters responsible for the riots that took place, as the Home Secretary has done, in order to divert attention from the state’s failure to adequately manage the crowds present and contain the actions of several hundred violent and organized criminals.”

It also said the management of UEFA’s ticketing system was “unfit” – and said stewards had not received adequate training, which quickly became overworked.

There were “severe deficiencies in reconnaissance (and) transport routes for supporters” and “insufficient communications”.

The match on May 28 started one hour late.

Sky News has since learned there was a “major” bottleneck before the start Liverpool fans were thrown through a narrow gap and tear gas was used in an area containing 20,000 Reds fans.

The report says that UEFA failed to create a system that could detect the scale of the counterfeiting.

The French federation discovered 2,471 fake tickets – 1,644 of them in the southern sector of the stadium dedicated to Liverpool fans.

The checkpoints were blocked due to the decision to carry out primary validation of tickets at security checkpoints before screening, it added.

The Senate recommended the introduction of tamper-proof tickets for future events of similar importance.

He also called for better coordination between stewards and the police.